Saturday, February 28, 2009

New colors on my canvas

Garden is like a canvas on which we can paint the beautiful colors of nature; a fresh new painting every season; different colors to regale the eyes with a new fragrance in each bloom. This spring, painting on my canvas got some new colors on it: All collected from various sources; leading the pack is this Marguerite Daisy... Here in my city in addition to the local nurseries we have vendors who go from house to house selling plants. Earlier I used to be in doubt about the range and viability of plants available with them. But these Nemesias which I bought from one such door to door vendor forced me to change my opinion as the plant is doing very well. It also taught me a lesson to not to trust illogical preformed beliefs rather to try and find out things after experiencing them. Camellias, I was made to believe by gardening books, doesn’t like warm temperatures. But as the latest theme at Indigarden was to learn things the hard way i.e. by doing them, I decided to give it a try and brought it home from local nursery. To be fair to the gardening literature this pretty plant did keep lying dormant through the months of March to November, and it was the cold of December which made the beauty feel at home and showed signs of change manifesting in a marvellous bloom in February. . The Cornflowers... ...the purple Salvias...and the Brachycomes, were all passalongs, gifted by the gardener at my workplace. I had planted them with special care befitting the affection with which they were given to me. And, thankfully, they have bloomed gorgeously. I guess it will be sometime before, thanks to modern developments in genetic engineering, that we will be able to grow all existing variety of plants and vegetables in any climate zone. Till then, sadly, I will never be able to grow my own orchids. But, there is this ‘Poor man’s orchid’-Schizanthus which is doing very well here and providing succor to my soul in the absence of the real thing. But I have been definitely able to grow something which till now didn’t belong here and whose first inflorescence I harvested today. This lovely powerhouse of a vegetable is a relatively recent addition to Indian cuisine, and is still not available easily in my city. I think my local nursery man gauged the changing tastes before the vegetable vendors could, and thanks to his foresight I got the seedlings which grew into a healthy looking inflorescence. Planting a new seedling is almost like a cute suspense movie where the final plot is truly revealed only after the bloom, and when these little additions to my floral kitty bloom, they make me jump with a child like joy.

21 comments:

Julie said...

Oh, all so beautiful! Your garden is amazing! Love your brocolli! It is so fresh tasting when you grow it yourself.

Claude said...

Wonderful floweres and colors. It will be a few more weeks before I can compete... but spring is just breaking through here. Had a bit of a freeze last night, and It's probably the last of the year...

Anonymous said...

Hello, thanks for stopping by! It is so refreshing to see your flowers. I am not sure I would want genetic engineering to provide the opportunity to have flowers in my garden which I could otherwise not have. There is so much to enjoy which nature provides naturally to me, I would not want to influence that. Have a nice Sunday, Andrea

Unknown said...

Amazing colours on your canvas! I have the same salvias too. They've been blooming since December. A few months ago I bought a camellia (for the first time) but it doesn't seem to be doing too well. Maybe I should give it some more time.
The nemesias are very pretty. Striking colours!

Chandramouli S said...

Amazing collection, GreenThumb! So true about learning it the hard way, though it sometimes breaks your heart, it sometimes gives you immense pleasure. I do the same - glad to see someone's in the club too ;) I love the Brachycomes - such beautiful blooms!

Rusty in Miami said...

I like your new canvas; very nice colors especially the Nemesias.

Aiyana said...

I think I like the cornflowers best.
What veggie is the most popular where you live? I'm curious since you say broccoli is relatively new there.
Aiyana

Sunita Mohan said...

What an explosion of colour in your garden! Fantastic! And I love your new motto. Like you, I was persuaded by gardening magazines and books that I needed a greenhouse to grow orchids. In India, can you imagine! Thank God I am a bit too stubborn to listen to "No"s ;)

Green thumb said...

Julie:- Broccoli, as I said in my post, is a new addition to Indian cuisine. And having read about all the goodness of this vegetable I am quite excited to be able to grow my own.

Claude:- I would love to see the transition in your garden from snow to spring. As I come from tropics, I would have probably enjoyed Snow more than the spring.

Andrea:- I fully echo your thoughts on genetic manipulation in our own garden, and that is the reason that I love growing my own veggies to avoid the GM ones. It is certainly far more interesting to have a unique flora for every climatic zone, otherwise the whole world would become a uniform looking boring bland place.

Kanak:- I guess, these Camelias are like little kids; they need all the patience we can have, and as soon you start running out of it(patience), they'll bloom.

Chandramouli:- Learning the hard way, though difficult, is probably the most effective.

Rusty:- Thanks for all the appreciation. Nemesias are my favorite too.

Aiyana:- As I said Broccoli is a very recent addition. Thanks to the satellite TV and the internet, the native cuisines have truly become global.
Cauliflower is more popular veggie here as compared to Broccoli. Although, being in tropical and temperate climate zone, almost all the veggies are eaten here. But some like broccoli, asparagus, celery, leeks are not yet popular.

Green thumb said...

Sunita:- I remember your lovely Orchids, and your words had filled me with a fresh optimism regarding being able to grow them. But, sadly, there is no nursery selling them here, so my fantasy will have to wait a little more time.

islandgal246 said...

I am surprised that Broccoli is new to Indian cuisine. I love it. I used to grow it years ago but gave up because of the pests it attracts. The chinese use it extensively in their stir fry and curries. I have just made a green chicken curry using it with some carrots for colour. Yum Yum !! We import most of it from the USA and it is still relatively affordable around 3.00 US for a 3-4 flower heads. I can imagine the excitement when the first one appears. Your look as if it is ready for picking . The stalk is also used extensively in chinese cooking so not all is lost. You are an adventurous gardener, I just love to see if the plants I see on HGTV can grow down here. I have tried fuchias and they died quite quickly. I have some crocus bulbs in the fridge chilling before I plant them. I have a whole crisper drawer in the refrigerator filled with seeds packs from the USA and UK chilling for many years until I get around to planting them. I hope they are still viable.

Anonymous said...

I accidentally got to see your blog and was amazed to find your vast collection! I am Ally George from Chennai, TN. We live in a flat and its been 2 months since i honestly starting gardening. I am greatly inspired and I am looking out for many more inspirations from you!! I liked the Chrysanthemum collection of yours! and of course the vintage look of your garden with all those terracotta pots.

Anonymous said...

join me in my quest to grow orchids too.. i'm soon gng to try my hand at them wen my frnd sends me some orchid stuff... another frnd i know here in noida is aready trying her hand at growing them.. dnt lose heart we will cook up(or grow up) some way of adding those lovely flowers to our garden

Matron said...

You've done really well to grow that broccoli in a warm climate! You must have found exactly the right variety for your conditions. Hope you enjoy eating it!

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

That was a wonderful parade of blooms even the Broccoli is pretty, nice post. Thsnk you for a wonderful tour in your garden.

Take Care

Tyra

Jan said...

WOW, it's so nice you're able to grow broccoli. It's is my favorite veggie. It's so healthy, too! Your flowers are amazing, as usual;) All so gorgeous, I don't think I can comment on any one in particular. The shade of blue in the one cornflower is beautiful!

A wildlife gardener said...

All the tones and shades in your flowers are from my favourite part of the spectrum...sooo soothingly gentle and beautiful :)

I salute you for growing broccoli. I have never managed that :)

Anonymous said...

i am delighted.............lovly flowers!!!!!!!








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Anonymous said...

Hi.I'm a first-time visitor and glad to be here. Your broccoli is every bit as beautiful as a flower. But I must say the spray of roses in your banner is my favorite. LOVE THEM.

Anonymous said...

Hey WOW! What a beautiful flower....Great work

Julie said...

How did your homegrown brocolli taste???

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